Fool For You
by Cheyanne Blaize
Summary: When Rachel sticks up for him against a teacher, Puck realizes that she might just be more than the broadway-bound school freak, and takes a liking to her. Only problem is, Rachel may not exactly feel the same way. So it's up to Puck to get her to change her mind. ((set before the events of season 1, but during sophomore year. Puckleberry Fanfic.))
1. Rachel Berry: Badass?

**Okay this was something that was just a little randomly bouncing around my mind, and was meant to be a one-shot, but sort of turned into something more. I just want to be clear that this is all before everything we've seen in Glee. It's still sophomore year, but this is before Glee Club even starts back up. Don't worry, we will get to that but just know that it hasn't happened yet. So, here's the first chapter. Read, Review, Enjoy!**

"Mr. Puckerman! We all know you're not actually going anywhere in life and you're probably going to drop out of high school to get a job at Breadstix, but that inevitable outcome is no excuse for you not to turn in your homework! In fact..."

Puck wasn't exactly surprised when his math teacher had begun yelling at him for the day. He's thinking it's nothing he hasn't heard before, even when she basically says he's a Lima loser. It's probably why he avoids actually going to class. To avoid these never ending rants his teachers give him.

"... wasting my time! I swear they don't pay me enough to try and teach the worthless students in Lima! And _you_ especially!"

He really doesn't even make an effort to defend himself anymore. What's the point? He's used to it.

"Yelling at you doesn't even get through to you! I don't even know what i'm supposed to do with you! You're not even pretending to put in an effort anymore. It's clear i shouldn't be wasting my time on you, but here i am, trying to be the best teacher i can be while you just stare off in space and-"

Her rant was cut short by a scoff from the other side of the classroom. He may be used to teachers yelling at him and telling him he's worthless, but he isn't used to anybody sticking up for him. All eyes turn to the source of the sound, and he's no exception. Soon enough his hazel orbs land on the one and only Rachel berry. The very same girl he slushies at least twice a day. Some people stare at her in surprise. Others in confusion. Some start to whisper, wondering what's happening now and what's going to be happening next.

"Do you have a _problem_ Miss Berry?" The teacher sneers. Rachel simply raises a perfectly sculpted eyebrow at her.

"No, of course not." Damn, he was kinda hoping to see this chick bitch out the teacher, especially if it was on his behalf. "But it's obvious you do."

Maybe he spoke too soon.

"I beg your pardon?"

"It's highly inappropriate to speak to a student that way, not to mention completely disrespectful and demeaning. Your job as a teacher is to do anything and everything in your power to help us as student to learn, excel, and be the best we can be. How do you expect Noah to do any of those things if all you're doing is crushing his spirit and telling him he's worthless? And then topping off your derogatory speech by saying that it's his fault you are unable to correctly do your job as a teacher? Frankly, if this is the way you 'teach', you picked the wrong career path."

Nobody was really sure what to do. Some people looked like they were ready to cheer, others just stared at her, mouth agape. The room was silent, waiting for a comeback from the older woman.

"Honestly, Rachel. I don't see how this is any of your business." she said after a moment.

"It probably wouldn't be if you weren't wasting my time, as well as the rest of my fellow students' class time informing Mr. Puckerman how little you think of him. This of course affects me because not only am I losing precious learning time, because you _are, _in fact, interrupting the learning process, but you also choose to bully another student in front of me and i will not stand for it."

"I am not bullying him!" the teacher shrieked. "I am simply reprimanding him."

"Is that what you choose to call it? The way i see it, you _are_ bullying him. You are singling him out because you have decided he's no good so you're picking on him ad calling him names. And we've all been to enough bullying awareness assembly's to know what it is and what to do about it. As students or even morally correct human beings, we are not supposed to sit back and watch as another student gets bullied. Especially by a teacher. We're told we should stand up for that person, and that's exactly what I am doing. I will not stand back as you terrorize him with false accusations!"

The teacher seemed speechless. But of course that only lasted a minute.

"Exactly what part of what i told Mr. Puckerman would you render a false accusation?"

"You told him he was not only worthless, but stupid. You also insinuated that he was a loser that was going to be stuck in Lima with a minimum wage job. It's obvious you believe this, but that does _not_ make it true. If Noah sets his mind to it, i'm sure he could get a high paying job far from the food industry, and he could reach whatever goals he's set for himself. Just because you got stuck with some low paying job as a teacher that you never wanted, doesn't mean you can take your anger from your personal life out on a student."

"That has nothing to do with it!" Any student who wasn't still shocked into silence at Rachels outburst, began laughing when the teacher confirmed her statement. "Well, perhaps your precious_ Noah_ should have been smart enough to turn in his work then!"

"He may have chose not to do the work you assigned, but that doesn't make him stupid. For all you know he could be the next Einstein! And, i really don't think _you_ should be the one pointing out the stupidity of others." Rachel said matter-of-factly.

"Exactly what does _that_ mean?"

"Well you're not exactly a genius yourself are you?"

"_Excuse_ me?"

"You heard me. Just take a look at the facts. 1) You spelt _trigonometry, parallelograms_ and _cotangent_ wrong on the board."

"Well, everyone makes mistakes. I'm sure that-"

"I wasn't finished. 2) Going over homework yesterday, you answered three problems incorrectly, as well as one from today before you decided to cut the lesson short to yell at Noah. 3) You read at an 8th grade level, and it's pretty time consuming for us to sit and wait while you try to sound words out. 4-"

"I think we've heard quite enough out of you Miss Berry!"

"Frankly, i think we've all heard enough of _you_ Mrs. Riley." The class erupted into 'ohhhhh's and the teacher (apparently her name was Mrs. Riley, who knew?) looked deeply humiliated. But, Rachel wasn't done yet. "I don't know why you decided to waste everyones time bad-mouthing Noah in front of the class. I think you should probably take some time off to focus a little more on self improvement."

"Rachel! Your behavior needs some serious adjustment!" It was obvious the teacher was severely freaking out by this point, and Rachel was calm as ever.

"From where i'm sitting, it's clear _your_ behavior could use the adjustment. Honestly, you call yourself an educator?"

"Miss Berry! That is enough. How would you like to take a trip to go see Principal Figgins?!"

Mrs. Riley's distressed face flipped into as satisfied smirk, it was clear she thought she had won.

Puck was sure she had too. He completely expected Rachel to freak out and take it all back with heavy apologies, maybe even cry a little. He did _not_ expect her to start packing up her belongings.

"That would be lovely. In fact, I should probably go see him anyway, I think your teaching methods should be brought up to him as soon as possible." She slung her bag over her shoulder and waltzed over to the door, taking one last look at the class. Her eyes landed on his for only a second. "I apologize to my fellow students whose class time I may have interrupted in my attempt of teaching what's morally acceptable to our trigonometry instructor."

With those parting words, she walked out of the classroom and in the direction of the principals office. Leaving behind, a shocked and mouth-agape teacher, two dozen cheering students, and one confused football player.

"Alright, alright! Enough of that! Let's get back to work!" Mrs. Riley yelled out, still glaring at Puck. Though she chose to keep her mouth shut this time, in fear of retaliation.

What had just happened? Whatever it was, one thing was for sure. He had a whole new view on Rachel Berry. She was no longer the broadway-bound school freak. Rachel Berry was a badass.


	2. Rachel in Wonderland

**So... wow! I'm really surprised this story got such a great response! I've been sprouting more ideas though, so hopefully i can update plenty. I'm not that great a writer though, so i hope i don't disappoint! And i know this chapter isn't great, but it's just sort of starting it off. ****Anyway, Read on, and review :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee :(**

* * *

Rachel berry had been bullied all her life. She's always been told the same thing about it. Ignore the bullies and they'll go away. Bullies want a reaction. If they don't get one, they won't make the effort anymore. They'll stop picking on you. Well it turns out, that's a load of crap.  
Bullies don't stop. Ever. They just keep going and going. You can pretend they don't exist all you want, but they do. You walk through the school hallways, and there's a kid being bullied on every corner. Nobody ever does anything to stop it. They just sit back and watch it, as though it entertains them. Probably because it does. Isn't that_ sick_? It entertains them to watch other students be torn down and picked apart. Instead of putting a stop to it, they laugh. And frankly, Rachel's sick of it. She is fed up. Totally done with bullying of every kind.  
She knows she's different. She embraces it actually. But that shouldn't make it okay for others to laugh at get. And it doesn't... Does it?  
So, why keep ignoring the bullies when that clearly doesn't work? She's been working to ignore them her whole life. Pretending they don't exist. But the fact is, they do. They exist, and they do what they want. They pick on you, and tear you down, and throw slushies in your face. They're real. But just because she's recognizing that they exist now, doesn't mean she's just going to cower or go cry in a corner. Rachel berry does NOT have to deal with this. She won't.  
So she's guessing that's why she did what she did this morning. She's assuming she just had enough, and snapped. She's sure that's what everyone else will be saying to, that crazy berry finally snapped. But she's not going to care.  
She actually feels kind of proud of herself. Sticking up for Noah Puckerman (even if he is a bully himself), when no one else would, was sort of like sticking up for herself in a way. And sticking up for all those kids out there, who are different. Those kids who have someone else in their life trying to tear them down. She finally took a stand and that, that makes her feel great.

* * *

The second Rachel exited Mr. Figgins office, SPLASH. She was covered in bright red, ice cold, cherry flavored slushy. She stood in shock as it seeped into her clothes and ran down her legs.

"Learn your place, Berry." Is all Noah Puckerman said, granted it's more than he usually says, before he walked off with his crowd of nameless jocks.

This is what she gets for standing up for someone who didn't want to be associated, at all, with the school freak. She gets covered in a sticky, cold beverage, and laughed at by everyone.

...Or at least, that's what Rachel expected to happen.

Instead, she was faced with a surprise.

She slowly walked out the glass door between the principals office and the main hallway of Mckinley, bracing herself for the inevitable. The moment the door shut, the hallway went silent. All eyes were on Rachel Berry. Less than a minute later, the students erupted into a cheer. She stood in shock (though not the same as if she had been slushied) wondering what exactly was going on. They were cheering... for her. _Why?_

As the cheering began to die down (Ms. Sylvester having entered the hall), a few people came up to her. She wasn't exactly sure why, but she didn't run in fear of conversation either.

"Hi Rachel. We just wanted to say, it was really... cool of you, to ya' know, stick up for Puckerman like that." One of the jocks in the small group said awkwardly. Was that what this was all about?

"Yeah, i guess we misjudged you. You're not so bad after all, Berry." A cheerio. That's who just said that to her.

Did she follow a white rabbit down a hole? Was she in wonderland where everything was this strange, or did she just bump her head _really_ hard. Maybe she was dreaming. Yeah, that's it. She's probably asleep right now in her bed. Because there is absolutely no way that this was really happening to her.

"Uh.. Thanks, i guess." Was all Rahel could get through her lips before they turned around and walked away. She twisted her body to do the same, only to come face to face... or well chest, with Noah Puckerman.

Her breath caught in her throat.

"Hey Berry, how's it going?" She wasn't sure she could trust her voice. She'd been kind of afraid of what his reaction would be ever since the adrenaline of having stood up against bullying had worn off. But, at least he hadn't thrown a slushy in her face... yet. "You'll never believe what happened to me today! See, i was sitting in class, minding my own business, when Mrs. Riley started laying into me. It wasn't a big deal, i've gotta admit, i'm pretty used to it. But then, someone in the class started yelling at her right back! Can you believe that?"

She wasn't sure what she was supposed to say. What kind of trap was Puck setting her up for this time? So, she kept her mouth clamped shut.

"Nothing? Seriously, Berry. What _was _that?"

"I assure you I don't know what you're talking about." She said quietly, then walked around him in the direction of her locker. Unfortunately, her escape plan failed. He decided to tag along.

"Right. I'm just trying to figure out why _you_ of all people decided to stick up for me." She again chose to stay silent, but could tell her silence was starting to get on his nerves. "Look, I didn't need you to do that. I was perfectly capable of handling the situation."

His tone made her realize just who she was talking to.

Noah Puckerman was a bully.

No, he was _the_ Bully. The same guy who had made her life a living hell by dousing her in slushies and joining in on the 'bashing Berry' party that seemed to go on whenever she passed a group of Jocks or cheerios in the hallway. Just because he was the one being bullied in class, doesn't mean he's no longer a bully himself. It didn't take back any of the things he's said or done, and it definitely didn't mean he was going to stop doing them now that he knew what bullying felt like.

Once a bully, always a bully.

And she had made an unofficial deal with herself. Rachel Berry no longer had to bow down to bullying. She wouldn't take it anymore. She was going to stick up for herself... starting right now.

However, before she actually got to _say_ anything, the bell signaling the next class was about to start decided to make it's appearance.

"Look Rachel," Oh, so it's Rachel now? "I just wanted to say.. thanks. It was, cool of you to stand up for me." Again Rachel was silent. She really_ must_ be in Wonderland, if she thought there was anyway this was really happening. Especially when Puck tucked a stray piece of her hair behind her ear and smiled down at her. "Thanks again, Berry. See ya later."

She was shocked into silence as she stared at his retreating figure. Anybody left in the hallway, though numbers were few, had been paying close attention to the exchange.

She swears there was no white rabbit, and she didn't eat or drink anything strange. No talking flowers, or pipe smoking caterpillars. She didn't attend a tea party, and she doesn't remember a mad hatter. Nobody had been dressed as the Queen of Hearts, though Kurt Hummel had been wearing an outfit that was similar today. She hadn't caught sight of the tweedle twins (dee & dum) and no talking doorknobs either.

However, Rachel does suppose that there was a familiar smirk among the student body that reminded her something of a Cheshire Cat. And, she couldn't get it out of her head.

But, soon enough, the tardy bell rang.

"I'm late! I'm late! I'm late!"


	3. Once a bully, always a bully

Things were definitely different. He couldn't figure out why the one thing on his mind was her. Rachel Berry. Maybe it was because she had stuck up for him, or maybe he was just seeing her in a different light since no one had tossed even a drop of slushy on her in the past week. What was it about her? He just couldn't put his finger on it. She was Rachel Berry, the music obsessed freak of McKinley that everyone knew was headed down the path to stardom. He was Noah 'Puck' Puckerman, football playing, slushy wielding, self-proclaimed (but title respected and feared) bad-ass. He shouldn't _want_ her, especially not this much.

He seriously thinks he's going crazy or something. He's turned down sex with several of his regular cheeri-hoes, and that included Santana Lopez. Just because something in him told him _no_. Something in him wondered what _she _would say. But that's not all, one of the biggest reasons he thinks he's gone crazy is that he also turned down _Quinn _Freaking _Fabray_. He's been trying to hit that for a while now, but for some reason, when the opportunity came, he turned it down. There she was, drunk off the booze that _he_ gave her, practically begging for it. But his stupid conscience got the best of him and he dipped out, hearing her call her boyfriend the golden boy to come take care of her, as he shut the door to her room.

So seriously, what was wrong with him? 'Cause that was a once-in-a-lifetime-opportunity, and the old him wouldn't have let it slip away.

Now, for some reason, he was glaring in the direction of Dave Karofsky as he hit on Rachel in the hallway by her locker. He didn't know why he cared, it wasn't like she was his girlfriend or anything. He's only kind of started talking to her since she stood up for him with that stupid teacher _and_ Figgins a week ago. But lately, he's been thinking that maybe he actually _wants_ her to be. Yeah, him. Puck wanted Rachel Berry to be his girlfriend. Not just a hit it and quit it sex challenge, but a real girlfriend. He wanted the constant make-outs, the sex, the cuddling, even all the emotional and romantic crap, he wanted it all. And he wanted it with her. So as soon as Karofsky waltzed away with his mindless group of friends, he took his chance.

He walked right up to her and took her now surprised face, and kissed her. She fought it at first, but he stayed strong through the little fists punching at his chest. Sooner or later, she gave in and kissed him back. It was everything he had been hoping for, absolutely perfect. He didn't even mind that he sounded like a chick in his head as they kissed. Who would've guessed that Rachel Berry was this good of a kisser? And eventually, all to soon for his taste, it ended.

"Is there a reason you felt the need to violate me, Noah?" she asked, eyes still wide with surprise.

"I kissed you."

"I know, i was there."

"You kissed me back."

"Is there a point to this, Puckerman?"

"Look, crazy as it is, I like you. Not sure why, but I do. And I know you like me too."

"Excuse me?" she seemed offended, but he didn't stop.

"So here's what's gonna happen, Berry. It's over for you, with any guy, 'cause you're my girl now. Got that?"

"Noah Puckerman, you Neanderthal. You can't just bully someone into becoming your girlfriend." He was admittedly a little surprised at her reaction, most girls would be thrilled. But Rachel Berry didn't seem to be like most girls.

"And why not?"

"It doesn't work that way!"

"It could." He answered simply.

"No it couldn't."

"You sure? Cause I'm pretty sure it just did."

"No it didn't!"

"It didnt?"

"No! Did it ever occur to you that I didn't actually _WANT_ to be your girlfriend?" No, actually it hadn't occurred to him. She had to be joking. Right?

"Why wouldn't you want to be my girl?"

"Well why would I?!" she seemed to be getting angrier by the second.

"Baby I'm a stud. And look around. It's not really like you have any other offers." He knew he'd said the wrong thing when she seemed to have snapped.

"You know what? you are a vile animal, Noah Puckerman. I would never date you, whether you bullied me into it or not. I don't know what I have ever done for you to feel so hateful of my existence that you strive day and night to make it completely miserable, but let me fill you in on something, you pig. The pornographic drawings on the bathroom walls, the horrendous names, the spiteful rumors, the slushie stains, they will all fade away with time. I'm going to get out of this town no matter what. But with the path you're heading down, your useless ass will probably rot here in this loser-town for the rest of eternity. We'll see who's smirking then." She's yelling in the middle of the hallway, her chest is heaving beneath her sweater and he realizes she's proably on the verge of tears. But not even all of this could stop her from finishing her rant. "I don't know what messed up joke you're trying to pull on me, or what 'pick on the freak' game you're playing. but I'm not interested in being a target anymore, and I will not just sit back and let YOU of all people victimize me. I may not be popular or what you people define as cool, but at least I'm happy with myself and I know where I'm going in life. Lets get one thing straight puck. I will no longer roll over or turn my cheek to your bullying-or anyone else's. whatever trick you're planning, count me out. I don't want any part of it, and I won't stand back and watch you do it to anyone else either. Grow the hell up, because in case you haven't noticed, we are in high school, not kindergarten. High school is only four years of our lives, and I won't let the opinions and judgement of others affect me any longer. Now if you'll excuse me, i'm going to be late for the first day of Glee practice."

and it was with that she turned around, and took a few angry steps in the opposite direction. But before she'd made her official exit, she twisted around and said one last thing to him.

"I don't know what i was thinking before. Once a bully, always a bully." and then she flipped back around and left him standing there in the middle of the hallway in shock like some idiot.

He wasn't sure what had just happened, but he was sure he needed to fix it. He would get Rachel Berry to be his girl if it was the last thing he did. Because even after her rant, he only wanted her more. He still had Rachel Berry on the brain. And he was determined to prove her wrong._  
_


	4. The 4-step Plan

"Dude, what's up with you lately?"

It was _her_ fault. Puck was different, and even his (usually) completely clueless, dopey best friend seemed to notice.

"I don't know what you mean, Finn."

Puck pulled his jersey off over his head. They were in the locker room, changing out after football practice.

"You've been... different."

"You're the one who suddenly decided to join glee and has recently been all giddy and shit. What's _that_ about?" Puck of course already knew the answer to that, but he'll do anything (even listen to Finn ramble on about his _first time_) to get the attention off of himself right now.

"First of all, Glee is a long story, and for your information, i actually like it. Oh! I can't believe I forgot to tell you! Quinn and i finally had sex! It was really awkward at first, but-" Puck smirked to himself, mission accomplished. "-and she was like, 'i need you to come over' and i was all 'sure, babe. no prob-'-wait a second... I'm not gonna fall for that one.. again!"

"Crap! I was _this_ close!"

Great, look who finally decided to get a brain... kind of.

"Seriously, what's been going on with you?" Finn actually looked concerned.

But, thinking about it for a moment, Puck decided that maybe telling Finn wouldn't be that bad. After all, if he couldn't tell his _best friend_, who could he tell?

"Okay, i'll tell you, but you have to keep this shit to yourself, got it?"

"Yeah, of course, man."

"Well, there's this girl."

"When it comes to you, there's always a girl."

"Okay, true. But she's not just any girl. She's.. i don't know, special or some shit. But for some reason, she doesn't like me! I don't know what to do, you know? I've pulled out all the moves that the Puckasaurus has, nothing works!"

Finn actually looked shocked. He probably couldn't believe his best friend, the same guy who calls himself '_Puckasaurus_', actually liked a girl this much.

"For starters, i'd stop calling yourself the ridiculous nicknames." called it.

"Very funny. But for real. I don't know what i'm doing wrong, help me out here, dude."

"Okay okay, well how exactly do you know she isn't into you?" Well, she called him a 'vile animal', implied he was a lima loser,

"Oh, that's easy. I kissed her, then asked her out, and she basically blew up on me."

"what do you mean?"

"I _mean_ i kissed the girl, then was all 'i like you, you like me, lets date' and next thing i know she's yelling at me about how i'm this horrible guy, a Lima Loser and a bully, and she'd never date me, because she won't be _'victimized'_ or whatever."

"Really? I gotta meet this girl! Who is she? Do i know her? Does she go to McKinley? Wait, it's not Quinn is it?"

"Not exactly the reaction i was looking for, bro. And no, it's not Quinn. " He slammed his locker shut as he finished pulling on his shirt.

"I don't know what to tell you, man. I guess she really doesn't like you." Finn shrugged it off.

"Thank you, captain Obvious!"

"Well, who is it?"

"Not gonna happen dude."

"Well, what are ya gonna do then?" Finn shut his locker, and they headed out of the locker room.

"Look, the way i see it, all i have to do, is convince her that i'm not the overly popular Jerk she thinks i am. If i can do that, than maybe she'll agree to like, be my girl or whatever."

"And do you have a plan?" Puck just shrugged in response. "Figures you'd just wing it."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Are you really sure you _really_ like this girl?"

"Yeah, i told you i did, didn't i?!" Puck took a deep breath. "i just, i don't know what it is, but theres something about her..."

"Okay, if you're positive, because if i'm wasting my time, you better tell me now."

"Screw you man, i don't need your help."

"Alright, here's what we're gonna do." Finn spoke as though Puck hadn't. "First, you've gotta try to be less... Puckish."

"How do i do that exactly?"

"Just don't be such a jerk, maybe even try to be nicer to people, her especially. And it wouldn't hurt to stop sleeping around. Think you can handle all that?"

"Yeah, yeah. I think I'll manage, what's next?" Finn raised a skeptical eyebrow, but said nothing of it.

"Second, you guys should try to find some common ground. Like maybe show her you're interested in the same things she is. That you're not all popularity and football and hooking up with cheerios. It couldn't hurt."

"Okay, common ground, i can do that. What else."

"Next, show her you're willing to be friends, but that she's more than that. You know?"

"Just try and be her friend but make sure she knows i like her?"

"Right. Also, don't like hide it or anything. Let other people know that you like her and that you're friends with her, so she knows she's more important than popularity or whatever."

"Gotcha. Anything else?" They'd reached the parking lot, and Quinn was waiting for Finn by his car.

"Lastly, apologize for whatever the hell it was that you've done that got her so pissed off in the first place."

"Gotcha. Thanks man."

"No problem." With that, Finn walked off into the direction of his car to meet up with Quinn.

So, thanks to Finn (Never thought he'd say _that_), Puck finally had some sort of 4-step plan to get Rachel to be his girl, and he was ready to put it into action.

1. Don't be a jerk. -easy enough, just show Rachel he could be 'Noah', and not just 'Puck'. Besides, he's already stopped sleeping around so that one's already half checked off.

2. Find some common ground. -all he had to do here was show interest in the things she liked, not too hard. Especially since he could sing and dance, and what else did she do for fun, like really?

3. Show her, and everyone else, that you liked her, but could be friends. -he needed to find the line between friend zone, and 'i like you'. Or basically, just tell her 'i like you, but i'm willing to be just friends until you realize you like me too'. He only hoped she would realize it soon.

4. Apologize. -not that he did anything wrong, but girls were confusing as hell, and could get offended for any little thing. So he had to not only figure out what the hell he did wrong, but convince her he actually felt bad about doing it.

He's not completely sure what he felt for her, or what the hell he was trying to prove, but soon enough, Rachel Berry would be his.


End file.
